Sometime over the Christmas holidays I blinked and suddenly it was April.
At least, that’s how it feels. This year is flying by and I can’t believe it’s a quarter gone already.
But it seems like a good time to pause and reflect on how things are going.
This year was the first time in a while I didn’t set any particular plans or resolutions. I knew the year would be busy, between big things happening at work and my novel coming out in May.
What I really wanted was to focus on my book and making it as successful as I can.
And by that I don’t mean selling a million copies and winning tons of awards, although that would be nice! I’m with an independent publisher and there isn’t a big marketing budget behind my book, which means a lot of the work to promote it is down to me.
I’ve got a marketing plan and I’ve been steadily working through it, hoping to increase the book’s visibility enough to sell a few copies.
But what I didn’t want to do was set myself unrealistic expectations. The chances are, my book will achieve modest sales and reviews and actually, that’s fine.
My promise to myself was only that I would work hard and do as much as I could to promote the book, without driving myself on to a constant marketing treadmill.
So far I’m feeling okay about things. It might sound self-pitying to say my book probably won’t make a big impact, but that’s just realistic. I’ve been trying to think positive and allow myself to dream, but also to be practical.
This is the first step in my writing career and I know I can be proud of the work I’ve done. I just need to build on it.
Of course, that part is a little harder.
I haven’t managed to work on my next book yet, but I’ve given myself a pass. The important thing for now is to get The Disappeared finished, published and promoted. Once that is out there, I can begin to switch my attention to a new project.
While I wish I could do everything, it’s not sustainable while working too.
What I have discovered, is that I enjoy writing flash fiction. I will tell anyone who’ll listen that I prefer writing novels to short stories, as I struggle to create a succinct piece of writing with focus and a message in 2,000 words. But apparently I can do it much more easily in 500 words or less. Who knew?
This discovery means I can do bits and pieces of writing as my brain allows and I can submit them too. It’s nice to have fresh pieces of work out in the world: it means I feel like a writer and I’m giving myself a chance to build on the work I’ve already had published.
So far this year has been tiring, the last month or so in particular.
But right now, it feels fairly positive.
My book will be out in just over three weeks – in fact, my author copies are due to be delivered this week. I’ll finally be able to hold a copy of my book. And that is a pretty exciting achievement!
P.S. If you’d like to pre-order a copy, you can do so here and here!